Ginning or burring machine.



PATENTED APR. 10, 1906.

W. YOULTBN. GINNING OR BURRING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED APR. 10, 1906. W. YOULTEN.

GINNING OR BURRING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG.17, 1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 817,607. PATENTBD APR. 10, 1906. w. YOULTBN.

GINNING 0R BURRING MACHINE. AIPLIGATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903.

5 SHEETSSHEBT 3.

(Figh- Witnesses; Inventor." 7 AMJW M PATENTED APR- 10, 1906-.

QSHEETS-SHEBT 4.

auventoas W. YOULTEN. GINNING 0R BURRING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILEDAUG.17, 1903.

Witneoazo No'. 817,607. PATENTED APR. 10, 1906.

. w. YOULTBN. GINNING 0R BURRING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903. v

5 SHBETSSHEET 5.

UNITED STATES l/VILLIAM YOULTEN, OF WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND.

GINNING OR BURRING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 10, 1906.

Application filed August 17,1903. Serial No. 169,826.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM YoUL'rEN, a subject of the King of England,residing at 159 Victoria street, Westminster, London, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Grinning or BurringMachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

This invention relates to ginning or burring machines, the object beingto effect improvements in the means for separating the undesirableextraneous substances from utilizable fibers for the purpose ofmanufacturesuch, for example, as the seeds from raw cotton duringginning, the broken leaf and crushed seed from the product afterginning, and the burs from wool.

The invention refers to various improvements in the parts of themachines for the aforesaid purposes, which improvements may be appliedseparately to existing fiber-machines or combined to form a machine ofessentially novel construction.

The more important features of the invention are the following: improvedautomatic feed mechanism and various arrangements for actuating thecombs.

In order that the invention may be understood, I shall first describethe various parts combined into one machine for the purpose of ginningcotton, for example.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of amachine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of samewith a portion of the hopper broken away to show the mechanism beneath.Fig. 3 shows modified doffing means, parts being shown in section. Fig.l shows the method of gearing for actuating this doffing means.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the adjustinglevers and cooperatingparts, showing amodification of the same. Fig. 6 is a longitudinalvertical section of the machine.

The same letters and numerals of reference refer to the same parts inall the views.

a a are a row of rakes extending across the machine at the bottom ofafeed-hopper Z). c c are slots in the lower part of one side of anextension of the hopper 6, through which the teeth of the rakes a work,said rakes describing a curved elliptical path d, so located that eachof the points of the rake-teeth rises sufficiently to seize a boll ofthe fiber at the bottom of the hopper. The bolls thus seized are carrieddownward by the movement of the rakes a to a continuous slot 6 along thebottom and next the back f of the hopper, this back f of the hopper I)being a smooth metallic surface, nearly vertical, within the hopper band extended downward in front of the vertical vibrating combs orclearers g of the fiber-machine, so as to form a guard. Below the levelof the bottom of the hopper I) this guard slopes backward toward theginning mechanism, so as to set free the bolls in order that they mayfall freely to the level of the center of the ginning-roller h. Thefalling bolls are guided in front by a row of toothed feed combs t,loosely suspended from hinges on the hopper-bottom I). These toothedcombs i are of a suitable formation and curvature to let the bolls fallfreely down to the teeth k of the feed-combs, which vibrate out and inhorizontally in front of the ginning-roller h and are so adjusted thatthey vibrate at the same speed as the vertical combs or clearers g,advancing as the vertical combs or clearers 9 rise or retire andretiring as the vertical combs or clearers 9 fall or advance. Inaddition'to this movement a sliding lateral movement may be given to thefeed-combs i by connecting them by pins m to the reciprocating bar a.These movement's of the feed-comb teeth 7c present the bolls to theginning-roller h and clear the seeds away,

I may employ in combination with the above-described feed-combs apneumatic de vice consisting of a tube 0, extending the L r of theginning-roller h and provided with o'rifices p at suitable intervalsalong the whole length facing the ginning-roller, so as to feed in thebolls and clear them of dust or other light impurities.

The gearing and mechanism which I prefer to employ for actuating thefeed-rakes a are the following: Each rake a has a pair of rods orhandles g, fixed in the rake-stock 1' and carried backward (through apair of trunnions s, oscillating in bearings t in the front of theframe-plate a, to a shaft 1;, eccentrically mounted on the shaft w,running in bearings 90 on the front frame-plate a, the shaft '0 fittingloosely in the forked ends of the parts 9. The crank-shaft w is rotatedby I i a sprocket-chain 1, running from the wheel y -to the wheel 2 onthe ginning-roller shaft 2.

The combined motion of sliding and oscillation of the rake-rods g. g inthe trunnions s 8 causes the rake-teeth a to ascend slowly in a curvedpath d convex toward the cranks and to descend at a quicker speed in theother portion of the curved path (Z convex toward the ginning-machine.

The gearing and mechanism which I prefer to employ for actuating thefeed-combs i are the following: A set of bell-crank levers 3 are pivotedon bearings 4,, fastened on the front plate a immediately over the lowervertical comb or clearer lever 5, hereinafter described. The ends of theupper arms 6 of the bell cranks 3 extend over the lower verticalcomb-levers 5, and the lower arms of the bellcranks 3 curve inward tothe back plate 7 of the feed-comb i. The lower arms 3 of the bell-cranks3 6 have bearing parts 8, resting against the back plates 7 of thefeed-combs i. The upward movement of the lower vertical comb-levers 5pushes the bearing-plates 8 inward, swinging the feed-combs in towardthe ginning-roller h, and a pair of spiral springs 9 on each feed-combmakes the return stroke.

The vertical vibrating combs or clearers g are preferably mounted in thefollowing manner: The vertical comb is mounted on a light hard-woodstock g, extending across the machine, the same length as theginning-roller h. The stock 9 is suspended on bearings 10 from thepivoted levers 11 and guided in an up-and-down path suitably curved toreach into the angle formed by the ginning-roller h and the sliding bara by a second set of levers 5 in vertical alinement with the levers 11,pivoted to the lower portion of the combstock g by bearings 12immediately above the comb 13. The comb consists of fine curved steelteeth with rounded points curved to the same curvature as the path oftravel of the comb and with solid backs screwed onto the lower edge ofthe comb stock 9. In the downstroke of the comb the teeth penetratebetween the fibers and separate the seeds, and the rise of this comb andits suspension to the top of the stroke allows the fiber to be seized bythe ginning-roller.

The ginning-roller it may be constructed with a perforated or roughenedsurface or ac cording to the following method, which I have found toanswer well in practice.

2 is a shaft with spiders 14, carryinga tube 15, on which is wound orplaced fine-gage tempered-steel card-clothing 16, or bristles or thelike may take the place of the steel wires in the card. The steel wiresor bristles may be bent or placed at an angle with the radial, pointingtoward the direction of motion of the roller h, (indicated by the arrow17,) so as to seize the fibers over the sliding bar n and part with themreadily to the dofferroller 18 or rotary brushes 66 or other dofferwhich may be employed. The roller h after the wire card or bristles areplaced thereon is immersed in a suitable composition capable of forminga hard bed, from the periphery of which the embedded wires or bristlesprotrude sufficiently to seize the fibers of the cotton being ginned,wool being burred, or other fiber under treatment.

A composition which I have found to answer well in practice is onecomposed of glue and whiting with an admixture of treacle or othersaccharine matter.

The gearing which I preferably employ for actuating the ginning-roller7t and the other parts actuated from the ginning-roller shaft 2 is thefollowing: 19 is a driving-pulley, and 20 a toothed pinion on thedriving-shaft 21, gearing into a toothed wheel 22 on an idle shaft orpin 23, carrying a toothed pinion 24, gearing into a toothed wheel 25 onthe ginning-roller shaft 2 in order to reduce the speed. 011 the insideface of the web of the toothed wheel 25 on the ginning-roller shaft 2 Imount a side-acting cam 26 to bear on a friction-roller 27 in the Y-fork28 of the sliding bar a. A pair of bevel-pinions 29 and 30 and worm 31and wheel 32 actuate the doffingroller 18 from the ginning-roller shaft2.

The dofIing-roller 18 is covered with fine steel-wire card-clothing 33,pointing at an angle with the radial against the direction of motion,(indicated by the arrow 34,) the periphery of the doffing-roller 33moving in the same direction as the periphery of the gin.- ning-roller16 at a slower speed.

The doifer-comb 35 is a steel bar vibrating at nearly the same linearvelocity as the periphery of the doffing-roller 18, from which itremoves the ginned fiber against the direction of its travel. Thedo'lfer-comb 35 is mounted on a frame consisting of a bar 36 on a set ofarms 37, the centers of which are fixed on a spindle or rocking shaft38, carried in the same bearing-blocks 39 as the crank-shaft 40, therotation of which causes the vibration of the do'ffer-comb 35. Thecrank-pins 41 are inserted in slots 42 in the crank-levers 43, and thecrank-shaft is driven by sprocket-wheels 44 and 45 and chain 46 from theidle-wheel and pinion 22. The dofling-roller shaft 47 is carried inadjustable bearing-blocks 48 on screws 49, by which the proximity of theperipheries of the dofling-roller 18 and the ginning-roller h may beregulated. The dofler comb bearingblocks 39 may also be adjusted byscrews 50 to regulate the closeness of the edge of the doffer-comb 35 tothe periphery of the dofferroller 18.

Referring to the sliding bar n, this consists, preferably, of arigidmetal plate sliding in adjustable guides 51, fixed by screwed bolts andnuts 52 on brackets on the side frame 53 of the machine. A temperedsteel edgeplate 54 is fastened on the top of the sliding bar n to form ahard wearing-surface to coact with teeth of ginning-roller. The slidingmovement is effected by a side-acting bevel faced cam 26, fastened onthe inside face of the web of the toothed wheel 25, which ac- IIO tuatesthe ginning-roller h. The cam 26 bears upon a friction-roller 27 inY-bearings 28, screwed into the end of the sliding plate 77.. The returnstroke may be effected by springs 55.

The vertical comb or clearer g is actuated as follows: A pair of cams 56on the ends of the driving-shaft 21 raise the ends of a pair of levers57, which oscillate the comb-lever shaft 58. The levers 57 carry africtionroller 59, bearing on the cam 56, and the downstroke of thelever 57 is effected by a strong spiral spring 60, attached to the frameof the machine and the lever 57. The camlevers 57 are keyed to the endof the comblever shaft 58 by rectangular keys 61, sunk in a pair ofgrooves in the shaft 58 and in a cover 62, forming half the eye of thecam-lever 57. The two halves of the eye of the cam-lever 57 are boltedtogether with a small space between the halves to allow for theadjustment of the combs 13 by means of the bolts and nuts 63. To adjustthe height of vibration of the combs 13, it is simply necessary toloosen the covers 62, turn shaft 58, and retighten covers 62, and itwill be readily seen that as the levers 11 are keyed to the shaft 58they will move with the shaft. The cams 56 may be made of any suitablecurvature on the bearing-surface or perimeter to regulate the intervalof time between the vibrations of the comb g, and with a view to leavingthe surface of the ginning-roller h exposed as long as possible to thefiber presented by the feed and promote the grip of the ginning-rollersurface on the fibers I make about a quadrant of the cam 56 concentricwith the driving-shaft 21, thereby causing the vertical comb or clearerg to pause at the top of each stroke or vibration.

Fig. 3 shows a clearer or dofiing-brush which may be employed instead ofthe doffing-roller 18. In this figure 6 1 is a horizontal roller, withtwo or more arms mounted radially on it and carrying the brushes 66 onthe outer end of each arm. The roller 64 may be made of hard woodmounted on an iron shaft 67, actuated, as shown in Fig. 4., bysprocket-wheels 68 69 7 O 71 and a chain 72 from the driving-shaft 21.

The operation of the machine is as follows, taking ginning of raw cottonas an example: The raw cotton is thrown in a mass into the hopper b,where the feed-rakes a intermittingly seize a row of bolls about oncefor each two revolutions of the ginning-roller it. These bolls arecarried forward to the continuous slot 6 in the bottom and along theback f of the hopper b and pulled down clear of the mass of cotton inthe hopper b. The teeth of the rakes a retiring in the course of travellet the bolls fall clear between the sloping part of the hopper-back fand the shield down to the vibrating feed-combs i, by which they are fedinto the ginning-roller h. The bolls are pushed toward theginning-roller h by the feed-combs t' at the moment when the verticalvibrating comb g is suspended at the top of its stroke, leaving thesurface of the ginning-roller h exposed for the protruding wires orbristles to seize the fibers of cotton. While the fibers are drawn downby the ginningroller between the periphery of the ginning-- roller h andthe sliding bar n, the vibrating comb-teeth 13 are combing out the seedfrom the bolls by sliding down close in front of the sliding bar n,passing in between the fibers of the cotton and pressing out the seeds,which drop out in front of the sliding bar 71. The longitudinal movementof the sliding bar n presents the bolls and seeds to the action of theteeth of the vibrating comb 13 and spreads them out, so that everyportion of the cotton bolls and seeds is subjected to treatment. Thelineal velocity of the movement of the comb-teeth is approximately equalto the lineal velocity of movement of rotation of the periphery of theginning-roller in the same direction. The ginned fibers are then doifedor removed from the ginning-roller either by the rotary brushes 66,above described, which rotate at a higher speed than the ginning-rollerh in the same direction, brushing the ginned fibers lightly off thesurface free of extraneous material, or alternatively the ginned fibersare removed by the dofling-roller 18, which rotates at a lower speedthan the ginning-roller h in the same direction, carding by its slowmotion the fibers off the ginning-roller and conveying them in acontinuous sheet on its periphery round to the doffer-comb 35. Thed0ffercomb vibrates in close proximity to the card periphery 33 of thedoffing-roller 18, and the edge of the doffer-comb 35 pointing in thecontrary direction to the direction of motion of the card removes thefiber in a continuous sheet. The lineal velocity of the edge of thedofier-comb is approximately equal to the lineal velocity of movement inrotation of the periphery of the doffing-roller.

In Fig. 5 is shown an alternative method of actuating the vertical combsor clearers g. 73 is an electromagnet, the armature 74 of which isconnected to the lever 11, pivoted at 58. A suitable make-and-breakarrangement, in connection with a source of electricity for exciting themagnet at frequent intervals as desired, is attached to any suitablepart of the machine.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a hopper,oscillating feed rakes and combs, a ginning-roller and a pneumaticdevice for directing jets of air upon the fiber when it is brought incontact with said roller, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a'hopper,oscillating feedingrakes, a ginning-roller, a feed-comb for i saidroller, means for oscillating said feedi comb, a bar arranged inproximity to said roller, a cam for moving said bar parallel to saidroller, and springs for returning said bar to its initial position,substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of aginningroller, a sliding bar arranged to coact therewith, means forreciprocating said sliding bar parallel to said roller, Vibrating combs,means for actuating the same, and means for adjusting the height of thecomb-teeth relatively to the sliding bar, substantially as described.

4. In a machine of the character described,

l/VILLIAM YOULTEN. Witnesses A. E. VIDAL, H. RoWLEY.

